The Fire Within
by PrincessAlyssa9254
Summary: Ivypool mysteriously goes missing on a hunting patrol, leaving her Clan to question her loyalty. Fireleaf, a new warrior prized by the Clan for her skills, idolized Ivypool and knows there is more to this than meets the eye. She gets permission from Bramblestar to go out on a mission with her friend, Sunspark. Will they EVER find out what happened to Ivypool?
1. Introduction

The Fire Within

A Warriors fanfiction

REAL BOOK CHARACTERS:

Ivypool

Foxleap

Toadstep

Bramblestar

Squirrelflight

MY CHARACTERS:

Fireleaf

Sunspark

Laurel

Luna

Celestia

Duck

Scar

Tom

Red/Rogue

SUMMARY: Ivypool mysteriously goes missing on a hunting patrol, leaving her Clan to question her loyalty. Fireleaf, a new warrior prized by the Clan for her skills, idolized Ivypool and knows there is more to this than meets the eye. She gets permission from Bramblestar to go out on a mission with her friend, Sunspark. Will they find out what happened to Ivyleaf, or is she gone to the Clan forever?


	2. Prologue

"Foxleap, lead a hunting patrol out by the lake. Take Ivypool, Toadstep, and Fireleaf with you," Squirrelflight said.

Foxleap lead his patrol out, and his former apprentice, Fireleaf, stuck close to his mate and her idol, Ivyleaf, who was clearly enjoying the attention.

"Excited for your first patrol as a warrior?" Ivyleaf purred.

"Oh, yes," Fireleaf gushed. "I'm glad it's a hunting patrol, it's what I do best."

"You have excellent instincts and skills, Fireleaf. I'm sure you'd do fine at anything," Ivyleaf said. Toadstep half purred in a mocking sort of way.

"I remember when you were a new warrior, Ivyleaf. You were always constantly competing with Dovewing, even though you had the best fighting skills I'd seen in a long time. At least she isn't flaunting her skills at every chance, like you were," Toadstep said teasingly. Ivypool bumped him with her shoulder in a friendly way and purred.

"You were just jealous of my amazing skills," she said matter-of-factly. Foxleap had dropped back to be next to Fireleaf.

"It's true, Fireleaf. Ivypool always wanted to go on border patrols because she has an amazing nose and crazy-good fighting skills. I went on a border patrol with her one time to investigate ShadowClan scent, and when we found a hunting patrol in our borders with three mice in their jaws, she leaped and attacked them so quickly they didn't even register it until she had clawed all but one of them. They didn't come back to our territory for a while after that, but when she had finished attacking, she came back with her head held high as if to say," he raised his voice to badly mimick Ivypool's, "'Ha! I beat them!' She was a big bragger, still is," Foxleap said.

"Aw, Foxleap," Ivypool complained. "Do you have to share all my secrets?"

"Yep!" Foxleap said. The group had reached the edge of the forest by the lake. "Okay, split up and meet back here?" Foxleap suggested. Ivypool and Toadstep agreed, then the four split up.

When they met up, only Foxleap, Toadstep, and Fireleaf were there."Oh, she'll come back eventually. She still tries to compete with Dovewing, you know," Toadstep said.

"Yeah," Foxleap agreed. The group of three returned to camp.

"Where's Ivypool?" Squirrelflight asked as they entered.

"Still hunting. We couldn't find her. She'll be back, you know she's probably trying to catch every piece of prey she can," Foxleap said. Squirrelflight nodded.

"Probably. If she isn't back by dusk I'll send a patrol out," Squirrelflight said. The three warriors headed to the fresh-kill pile and added their prey. The pile was large for leaf-fall, so they each took a piece and went to enjoy it with their friends.

Fireleaf headed over to Sunspark, who was only half a moon older than her. Sunspark was one of the three kits born to Squirrelflight and Bramblestar, but she hated special attention so she often ate by the shade of the the biggest trees.

"I'm worried about Ivypool. Something tells me she isn't just hunting. I think something happened," Sunspark said as Fireleaf sat down with a squirrel.

"Me too. I know she still competes with Dovewing, but she knows Dovewing has amplified hearing, so she knows better," Fireleaf said.

"I want to go on a patrol for her if she doesn't show up," Sunspark said. Fireleaf murmured her agreement.

The dusk patrol came back, but still no Ivypool. Squirrelflight organized a search patrol for her.

"I want Fireleaf to lead the patrol. I know she is a new warrior, but she has the best nose. I would send Dovewing, but with her being so close to kitting, we just can't risk it. Foxleap and Toadstep, you were on the hunting patrol, so go with her," Squirrelflight said. Sunspark stepped forward.

"I want to go. I sleep near her, so her scent is very familiar to me. And I have good tracking skills," Sunspark said. Squirrelflight looked down at her daughter, who was almost a mirror image of herself but Sunspark had brighter ginger fur and a white underbelly and no white paw, and sighed.

"Very well. Sunspark, Toadstep, Foxleap, and Fireleaf will search the area. Be back by the time the moon is the half the height of the trees, and report your findings," Squirrelflight lead the patrol to the spot where the hunting patrol had split.

"This is where we were. She went this way," Fireleaf said, following Ivyleaf's scent trail. It headed into the woods toward was buried prey along the way, meaning Ivypool had come this way. "We may as well take the prey with us," Fireleaf said.

"I'll carry it," Toadstep offered. Fireleaf nodded and, with Sunspark picked up Ivypool's scent trail again. Toadstep picked up all of her buried prey, which was a lot. The scent trail went over the WindClan border, and there wasn't a patrol in sight, though there was one coming.

"I say we wait for the patrol," Foxleap said. "The moon's barely risen and I need to know what happened to Ivypool," he insisted. Fireleaf nodded, knowing the two were mates.

"Right. We ask the patrol if they knew what happened and if they don't we ask for permission to track it, with or without them," Fireleaf said. The other three warriors nodded in WindClan patrol reached them in a matter of minutes.

"One of you has crossed the border," Crowfeather, the leader of the patrol said. "I believe it was Ivypool," he said. Fireleaf nodded.

"Yes. She must have crossed earlier, the scent is stale. She's missing. Do you know what happened?" Fireleaf asked. Crowfeather narrowed his eyes.

"Look, Firepaw, aren't you a bit young to be speaking for your patrol?"

"It's Fireleaf now. I'm a warrior. And I'm leading this patrol. We'd like to request permission to track her scent, with or without you," Fireleaf said. Crowfeather's tail twitched in amusement.

"I like your spunk. What do you say, Gorsefoot?" Crowfeather asked his former apprentice. Gorsefeather had been a warrior for two moons, but clearly still learned from his former teacher.

"We have no quarrels with ThunderClan at this time. Bramblestar and Onestar are at peace. A warrior of theirs is missing and came onto our territory. We need ro check it out anyway, may as well let their patrol come with us," Gorsefoot said. Crowfeather nodded

."A good point. Sparrowclaw?" Crowfeather asked the other warrior.

"I agree with Gorsefoot. We are on good terms with ThunderClan."

"And you, Muddypaw?" Crowfeather asked his apprentice.

"Yes. If a warrior is missing, we should investigate. It makes sense to let their patrol along, but we need to escort them in case this is a trap."

"Very good, Muddypaw. You are learning. Well then, let's go. Firepa—Fireleaf, you can lead. I've heard you have a good nose," Crowfeather said.

Ivypool's scent wound around and mixed with the scent she didn't recognize."Crowfeather? This isn't WindClan, is it?"

"No. It's the scent of a kittypet who has run away recently."

"As I suspected. It's strong here, like he marked his territory. I've smelled since ThunderClan, now that I think about it," Fireleaf said. Ivypool's scent lead past the Horseplace, and it was getting late.

"Alright. Thank you for letting us follow her trail," Fireleaf said. They returned back to camp empty pawed.

"What happened?" Squirrelflight asked.

"She went to WindClan territory, then past the Horseplace. We stopped following there," Sunspark said. Squirrelflight nodded sadly.

"Then she deserted us. I have questioned her loyalty for a while now. She has a nest close to mine, and she would leave early during the night and come back just before dawn patrol got up," Squirrelflight said. Foxleap's eyes looked like they might burst to flame at any second now.

"You had no right to question her loyalty," he snarled. Squirrelflight immediately apologized.

"That's not what I meant," Squirrelflight said. Foxleap just curled his top lip and went into the warrior's nest. He slept in Ivypool's nest instead of his, which was right next to her's, to get her scent all over him.

"There's more to this than that!" Fireleaf cried. "Ivypool was 100% loyal!" she said, trying to convince everyone. Sunspark rubbed her pelt against Fireleaf's comfortingly.

"We know you loved her, Fireleaf. But she left. For good. I'm sorry," Sunspark said, then went to her nest. The gathering of cats went back to their nests, all except for Fireleaf.

"No. Something happened," Fireleaf said to herself, convinced of it.


	3. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So it's Winter Break at my school and I'll be able to post more :D! I'll probably post...two to three and maybe four times a week. Yeah. Something like that.**

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_Disclaimer: I do not own the Warriors series, nor will I ever own it. The character names from the books belong to the Erin Hunters, but the plot and all OC characters belong to me_

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**Chapter 1—Ivypool's POV:**

"So, split up and meet back here?" Foxleap suggested. Toadstep and I agreed, and sweet Fireleaf just stood there like an apprentice, forgetting that she had a say in the matter.

We split up to cover more space, and I headed toward the WindClan border. You could find a lot of squirrels and the occasional rabbit that strayed over the border. I hunted and buried my food, per usual. It felt good to be out in the crisp leaf-fall air. I was scenting for more prey when I picked up an odd was the smell of a kittypet who'd recently run away and become an alley cat. Usually they didn't stray into our territory, but it was only one cat so I decided to go chase it off.

I followed the scent to a thick grove of trees, home to many squirrels. There was the kittypet-turned-alley-cat, licking her paws in the shade of the trees. My fur fluffed up and my hackals raised. Who was this alley cat to think she could just sit there like she owned the place? I snarled and growled a warning. She raised her delicate kittypet head at me.

"Relax, cat. I'm Laurel. Duck sent me," she said. Her voice was smooth, and I suddenly recognized her as one of Duck's 'kittens.' She hung around him and he, well he did what he want with her. She was beautiful, beautiful enough to be the center of his attention. He went everywhere with her, she'd even come to this grove before.

I guess I should explain who Duck is. When Hollyleaf died, I was in a state of grief. I ran away from ThunderClan and into the alleys of a Twoleg enclosure. I found Duck, who helped me past the grief. Ever since then, we'd meet in this grove on random nights. I told him about my life, he told me about his. He'd invited me to live with him, but I always declined.

"Duck sent me to tell you that he can't meet with you anymore unless you agree to meet him in the alleys. He sent me, of course, to show you the way," Laurel said.

She was almost completely black, except for a white paw. She had delicate features that would make any tom cat swoon. She'd joined Duck, the leader of one of the alley cat groups, but she'd switch to the new leader, when or if that happened and she was still around or alive.

"Take me there," I said. We went at a fast jog, through ThunderClan, WindClan, and past the Horseplace. She lead me through twists and turns and we reached an abandoned building where Duck's group was.

"Laurel! Ivypool!" Duck said. He stood up from his group of toms and their kittens and came over to us. "Laurel, wait in here for me, okay?" he asked. She nodded and dutifully sat down with the group of his other kittens. Duck came so close to me our pelts were touching, and he guided me outside."Ivypool, I'd like you to join my alley cats. I can't keep sneaking away to see you," he said. I loved him, much more than I loved Foxleap. I didn't have to think for long.

"Okay. But I won't be treated like Laurel."

"Oh, no, but you'll still be one of my kittens," he said.

"Okay."

"Good. I'll inform the others," he said. He guided me inside. "Ivypool will be joining us," he announced. All the toms looked up at me and studied me. It was uncomfortable. Most looked away, but a scarred tabby tom spoke up.

"I want her," he said. Duck looked annoyed.

"She's my kitten, Scar. I found her," Duck said. Scar shook his head.

"No. Kittens can be decided by a fight. And I want her," he said. Duck looked at me in exasperation.

"Fine. A fight it is," he said. I could tell that this was a common thing, because all the kittens turned away and all the toms crowded in. I watched, though.

I could tell that Scar was less muscular, but had better technique, and Duck was more muscular but had no technique. He probably won by using sheer force, but that wouldn't work with Scar. Scar could win. I could be Scar's kitten. I immediately regretted my choice of staying with them, but I couldn't back away now.

Duck made the first move, jumping at Scar. That was an apprentice's mistake. You expose your underbelly, making you vulnerable. Scar swiped at Duck's underbelly, causing a spurt of blood. Scar wasn't expecting this, allowing Duck to regain his footing and pin Scar to the floor.

"I win," Duck announced, then purred and came over to me. All the kittens looked at me sympathetically, but I had no idea why.

Duck came over to me, as was custom for the posessor of a kitten. He unsheathed his claws and made a scar of a line with two dots on either side. I stood patiently as he branded me with his insignia, then joined his other kittens.

"That was amazing," a beautiful black she-cat with a white patch with what looked to be a moon. Her scar was next to it. "I'm Luna, one of his youngest kittens," she said. I nodded.

"Ivypool," I said.

"Yes, I know. You were so brave," she said. "Just standing there while he marked you. You don't have a kitty or alley cat name, where are you from?" she asked. I almost told her, but I hesitated.

"A palce very far away in a forest," I said. She nodded and a white cat with a black patch that looked like a sun came over to us.

"Luna, come," she said. I could see a resemblance between the two, they looked like littermates.

"Tia–"

"Don't call me that," the white cat hissed.

"Celestia, I'm only talking to Ivypool."

"We're not supposed to be sociable with other kittens."

"But she's one of Duck's," Luna compalined. Suddenly Duck rose from the group of toms, and walked towards the exit. Laurel jumped up and walked to him.

"Did I call you, Laurel?" he snarled.

"Well, no, Duck, but you always do when you leave," Laurel purred. His gaze softened for a second, then hardened.

"Not this time," he said. "Ivypool, come," he said. Laurel looked shocked as I slunk after him. My fur was shinier and sleeker than hers, and I was more muscle than fat. I glided powerfully and smoothly towards Duck. A couple of the other toms were staring at my hindquarters, but I ignored them and went to Duck. However, I shook my hindquarters for them before exiting. One of the toms let out a wistful growl.

"Duck," I said, once we were outside.

"Yes?"

"Why did you fight for me?"

"Because I want you as my kitten. Scar treats his kittens awfully. He, well, you know, does it with at least one of them every night. And you're the most beautiful she-cat in that room," he said. I purred softly, he sounded just like Foxleap...but no. I had left ThunderClan. "You might want to change your name. Many in there have had run-ins with Clan cats, and nobody likes them. But that's not why I called you out here. Red, the leader of another alley cat group as powerful as ours has decleared war. I need fighters I can trust. All of the toms will fight, but we have too many lazy kittens. I want you to teach them to fight," he said.

"Nonsense, they wouldn't listen. Laurel hates me," I said.

"You were getting along well with Luna," he said.

"True," I mused. "But it might be better if you announced it," I said.

"That'll work. Okay, we're searching the trash for food."

"The TRASH?" I asked im shock. "I only eat fresh-kill," I said. "Why don't we go hunt?"

"We could," he said. I nodded, and he lead me to a park. There was a family of mice hiding by a tree. They were to stupid to run away, and I killed them all.

"Good. That's all we can get," he said. I scoffed at him.

"There are thousands of squirrels," I said. I raced up a tree and killed two squirrels. The next one had four, and the next three. He had to help me bring back all of the prey, and I managed to catch two rabbits on the way. We brought it to the abandoned house, and we had a feast. There was extra left over, so Duck buried it outside.

"You raid those Clanies, Duck?" Scar asked. He wasn't even mad about his defeat.

"No. She caught it," he said, gesturing to me with his tail. I was talking to Luna and Celestia when all fell silent.

"The kitten?" Scar asked, shocked.

"Yeah. And she'll be teaching all of the kittens to fight. Red has declared war on us. You all remember all those kittens he took last time," Duck said.

Suddenly a battle yowl split the air, and toms and poured into the house. A very handsome red cat was leading them, so I supposed he was Red. He was the kind of tom a she-cat's breath stops for. Duck's toms fought fiercely, but they were overpowered and outnumbered. Red chuckled and headed over to me and the other kittens. I bared my teeth at him.

"Now, now, beautiful. No need for that," he said, and swept his tail under my chin. I practically swooned, but I growled at him. He smiled. "Loyal to Duck, I see. Well, we'll have to change that," he said.

He moved forward, and, quick as a viper, I launched onto his back. He grunted and tried to throw me off, but he didn't succeed. I clawed his back and he rolled. I used his weight and momentum to flip we on top, then I clawed his underbelly until he was yowling in pain. I let up, as was custom to the warrior code. He got up and snarled at me.

He spun around and killed Duck, sending Duck's toms into a panic. He got his toms to herd me and all of the other kittens together. For good measure, he slashed my face. And so my life as a kitten for the leader of an alley cat ended.


	4. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: So...yeah. I meant to update faster, but this took a long time to write. The next chapter WILL be out by wednesday, though. I promise!**

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_Disclaimer: I do not, and will never, own Warriors. All rights go to its owners, the Erin Hunters. The only things I own are my own characters and the plot line._

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"I just know there's more to this than meets the eye," I was telling Sunspark between bites of mouse.

"I know you want to know what happened, but she must have left the Clan. Besides, Bramblestar is on his last life and he just caught greencough. Jayfeather is doing all he can, but he hasn't had catmint in moons, and nothing grows in leaf-fall. He's going to ask Willowshine tonight, but it's been a hard season. We can ask him if we can look, but he might say no," Sunspark warned. I sighed. Ivypool was more than my idol, she was the best warrior the Clan had.

"Can we go ask Dovewing?" I asked.

"That's a good idea, come on," she said. When we got to the nursery, all of the Queens were outside exchanging worried glances as the kits played.

"What's going on?" I asked. Robinwing looked up from her position on the ground. She was due any day now, and her stomach was enormous.

"Dovewing's kitting. Can't you hear–" she was cut off by a wail from within the nursery. Jayfeather's voice was soothing, and I'd never heard him like this in other kittings. It's because he and Dovewing were practically siblings.

"Come on, Dovewing. Just two more," he said.

"But that was just two," she moaned.

"I know. I know," he said. "I can't give you anymore herbs. You'll have to do the rest yourself," he said. A low moan came from the hollow and Jayfeather sighed.

"Good. One more," he said. "Good! Good, Dovewing. That's all of them," he said a few moments later. "Three she-kits and a tom. I'll leave you to be acquainted, but I'm sending Robinwing in," he said. Robinwing heaved herself to her paws and padded in as Jayfeather came out.

"Jayfeather!" Sunspark called.

"What?" he snapped. Same old Jayfeather.

"Can we ask Dovewing something?" she asked.

"No. She was asked about Ivypool already, and that was most likely the cause of the kitting, distress over her sister. Ivypool is in Twoleg place past the Horseplace, Now go," he said. He had always had a slight soft spot for Squirrelflight's kits, but he also kind of hated them. No cat ever said why.

"Wait!" I said. He sighed.

"What? I have to go to Bramblestar."

"We need to ask him for a journey."

"Fine. Go ask him," he said. Sunspark and I raced to the leader's den where Bramblestar was.

"Da?" Sunspark called in.

"Sunspark, Fireleaf, hello," he said.

"Um, Da, we'd like to go on a journey to Twoleg place to retrieve Ivypool. She's a valuable warrior, and times aren't so peaceful with ShadowClan. We want to bring her home."

"Very well. Daughter, this is goodbye. I won't be around when you get back," Bramblestar said. Sunstar's legs quivered and tears streamed down her eyes. She dropped down next to her father, who started coughing violently. I raced out of the den and ran to Jayfeather.

"Jayfeather!" I called. He poked his head out of his den. "Bramblestar is coughing and he won't stop! Sunspark is with him!" I called. Jayfeather ran out of his den and straight up the rocks to High Ledge surprisingly fast for a cat that was blind. He had a honeycomb and wet moss in his jaws, and he charged into Bramblestar's den.

He and Sunspark came out, heads lowered, a few moments later. I could still hear Bramblestar coughing inside, so he wasn't dead, but Jayfeather still had his herbs.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Sunspark just padded past me and into the warrior's den. "Jayfeather?"

"He has blackcough. He won't survive the day, Fireleaf. It's too dangerous to go in, if he coughed on you, you'd die too. He's done," Jayfeather said. "He had a good run, Bramblestar. He would have made Firestar proud, you know? He just catches sickness so easily...so easily. Only one life was lost that wasn't because of sickness. And that was because he threw himself off a cliff and saved Squirrelflight, but he fell. He died, but, of course, he came back. That was his first lost life. After that it was all sickness. But he did things even Firestar couldn't have. He made a standing alliance with WindClan. He made it for my mom, you know."

"Who is your mother?" I asked. Jayfeather gave me a wry smile.

"Nobody ever told you?" he asked. "Not even Lionblaze?" Jayfeather is, of course, referring to my adopted father.

I was found as a kit and taken in to the Clan. Cinderheart took care of me because she had just moved into the nursery, expecting her kits Hollypaw, Fallenpaw, and Leafpaw. It was two moons before her kitting, but an old leg injury was acting up with the extra weight of kits, so she moved in earlier than most. I was made an apprentice two moons before the three, at the same time as Sunspark, and Hollypaw, Fallenpaw, and Leafpaw went a moon without even speaking to me. Lionblaze felt bad for me, so he helped me with my training and helped me to make good friends with Sunspark. He told me all he knew about my past, that I was a blessing to the Clan from StarClan, and about his past. He never told me who his parents were, and I didn't ask.

"I never asked," I said. "And he didn't tell me, so it was none of my buisness."

"Would you like to know, Fireleaf?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. He nodded as if he had expected it.

"Come with me," he said. I followed him out of camp and to the Sky Oak. He climbed up it, much to my warnings. He lead me into a hidden hollow that was a tight fit. "This is a secret place, and I've never shown anyone. Sit. I'll tell you all about your adopted family," he said. I sat and he sighed sadly.

"Is it a sad story?" I asked.

"Yes. When Lionblaze and I were born, we had a sister, Hollyleaf. I was born blind, and I'll tell you why in a little bit. Well, we were Squirrelflight and Bramblestar's kits, the three of us. Squirrelflight wasn't a very good mother, not like she was with Sunspark. She was barely there, but Bramblestar was so it was okay. Well, anyway, Lionblaze was a warrior from the start. Hollyleaf was a medicine cat apprentice at first, and I was a warrior apprentice. I heard my calling to be a medicine cat and Hollyleaf heard her calling to be a warrior. So we switched.

"It was about that time I first used my powers, to enter other's dreams and thoughts. I started with just dreams and I didn't know. It was a little later that Lionblaze realized he couldn't be hurt. So, after we figured this out, Hollyleaf, Hollypaw then, hadn't found hers yet. We assured her that it would become clear in time. I found out about a prophecy about the three of us, 'There shall be three, kin of the fire's kin, who shall hold the power of the stars in their paws.' Naturally, that was us. Kin of Firestar's kin. But Hollyleaf never developed powers.

"There was a big fire in camp, and Ashfur trapped us in camp. Squirrelflight saved us because Ashfur held a grudge for choosing Bramblestar as a mate over him. He thought killing her kits was the way to do it. Squirrelflight told him that it wouldn't work, we weren't her kits. Only her adopted ones. We were heartbroken. We weren't Firestar's kin, the prophecy didn't apply to us, and we might not have Clan blood. Hollyleaf took this really hard. I think I was the only apprentice of us then. Well, anyway, Hollyleaf found out who our real mother was, Leafpool. Squirrelflight's sister. That still, of course, left the question of who our father was. And because, as a medicine cat, Leafpool wasn't supposed to have kits, her price was my blindness. And Leafpool being a medicine cat was heartbreaking for Hollyleaf. Lionblaze and I felt abandoned, but not full of rage, like her.

"She was sitting by the lake and Ashfur attacked her, convinced that this was the way to get to Squirrelflight. It also cleaned the Clan of 'dirty' blood. She fought back and killed him, accidentally. She ran away, and was trapped in the tunnels. She found a spirit, Fallen Leaves, the cat your adopted brothers were named for, and fell in love.

"Right, so anyway, while we thought Hollyleaf was dead, we found Dovewing. She was Cloudtail's taughter, kin of Firestar's kin since Cloudtail is his nephew.

"Eventually, Hollyleaf came back. Bramblestar saw her accidentally kill Ashfur and told the Clan, and we were okay with it. She died in the battle with the Dark Forest, and in her dying moments she forgave Leafpool and Squirrelflight, as Lionblaze and I had done.

"While we though Hollyleaf was dead, Cinderheart found out that she was really a reincarnation of Cinderpelt, and she was given another chance. Cinderpelt left her spirit before the battle, and Cinderheart and Lionlaze became mates. Leafpool died four moons after Bramblestar became, well, Bramblestar."

"Oh," I said, letting the information sink in. "Are Hollyleaf and Fallen Leaves together in StarClan?" I asked. Jayfeather opened his mouth then closed it.

"Hollyleaf...well...I know she went. She was misguided, and it was an accident killing Ashfur. And, anyway, she died saving Ivypool, and she even forgave Leafpool and Squirrelflight. I know she went."

"So you don't know?"

"Well, no. Yellowfang, an old ThunderClan medicine cat, told me not to pry. Every time I think I see her pelt, Yellowfang shows up and tells me not to pry. I have not been able to return to the tunnels where I met Fallen Leaves because we closed the enterances. Rock, another spirit who once guided me, has not come to my callings. Nor have I been able to find Half-Moon, a, um, friend of mine," Jayfeather said. "But perhaps it isn't my place to find her. Perhaps it is yours."

"Me? But I'm not even a Clan cat. Hollyleaf has no connection to me."

"But perhaps she does," he said, smiling. "Fallen Leaves, though dead, was not a spirit the same way a cat like Yellowfang is. Perhaps Hollyleaf wasn't either. Fallen Leaves died prematurely, so perhaps the same was true for Hollyleaf. He had a physical being, so she might have. And medicine cats can tell when a cat has kits...or will. The kitting would have been delayed until she could reassume a physical being, which would have taken time since she should have gone straight to StarClan. She would have had to deny her spirit guide and remain inactive in her body until we buried it. Then she would have had to get out of the ground and, once more, deny her spirit guide. She would have remained inactive in the forest until her spirit guide left. She would go to StarClan herself, and thus avoid the main entrance to StarClan and go through Brightspirit's Gate. Once she was through, if she avoided Brightspirit, Shiningheart, and Braveheart, she could sneak back out the gate. Without a blessing, she can't be reborn.

"But she could assume physical shape as a spirit and go to find Fallen Leaves and have kits. I'm pretty sure the kits would be real since spirits can't have spirit kits. So, right, she would have put her kits, or kit, where her old Clan could find her and adopt her. ThunderClan would never condemn a kit to death and they would have accepted him or her as her own. With Firestar as our grandfather, her kit or kits could have been born with red fur. It does make sense. Come back to camp with me. Go to sleep. As soon as you begin to dream, I'll take you to StarClan," Jayfeather said. I sighed softly and closed my eyes. When I opened them I had made a decision.

"Okay, Jayfeather. Not because I think Hollyleaf might be my mother, but because you're the medicine cat and it's best to do as you say," I said.

"Good," he said, and scampered down the tree. I ran next to him, my stride matching his. We burst into the medicine den together and I laid down in a corner. Jayfeather was in the opposite one. I quickly drifted into sleep.

My dream began, and it was an odd one. A beautiful black cat came to me.

"Hello, Fireleaf," she said."Um, hello. Who are you?"

"Who I am does not matter. Remember this. I will be a guide of sorts to you. You must not get distracted, by anything. Ivypool is your concern now. I gave her a chance–I mean, I, um, helped her to stay alive, no, no..."

"Are you Hollyleaf?" I asked. She fit Jayfeather's rough description, she was black with green eyes. Her eyes lit up with fear and anger.

"I said who I am does not matter. What matters is that you find Ivypool. Do not get distracted. I know something that cures blackcough, and I will guide Jayfeather to it. It is rare and can only be used on leaders on their last life. I will make sure he gets it to Bramblestar in time. You and Sunspark must embark on your journey today or it will be too late," Guide said. I had decided to call her that.

"I will do as you say if you tell me who you are."

"Must you know?"

"Yes!"

"Jayfeather was correct. I am Hollyleaf, and I am your mother. Your father is Fallen Leaves. You have the oldest Clan blood flowing through your veins. But Jayfeather was wrong. I do have powers, I just didn't know until the battle with the Dark Forest. I am the embodiment of earth, fire, water, and air. I can control them. I burst into flame and killed Hawkfrost. Ivypool won't remember this, so don't ask her. But a fire that burns bright is not meant to last. But you, Fireleaf, are the brightest fire. I am helping to preserve you from those who would like to kill you. You have the Ancient knowledge, if only you dig deep enough to find it. You might control the elements, I don't know, but I don't think so. Your power is the Ancient knowledge. Even I do not know it, only that you possess it," she said.

A spirit appeared, she was gray with amber eyes and scratches all over her face."You do not have long. I am blocking Jayfeather from dream-walking, but it will only last for so long. He is powerful, that one," the cat said.

"Thank you, Yellowfang, but that is no longer necessary. My daughter knows who I am. You can let him come," she said. Yellowfang nodded and ran off. Jayfeather appeared in the corner of my vision, and I turned to look at him.

"You can see!" I said. He smiled and nodded.

"In my dreams, yes. And is this...is this..."

"Yes, brother," Hollyleaf said. His eyes brimmed with tears of joy, and he ran to her. She pressed him into her pelt and put her tail over him.

"Hollyleaf, why haven't I been able to see you?"

"It wasn't time, my brother. I needed my daughter to see me first."

"So I was right!" he said. She nodded.

"You were always the smartest, Jayfeather. Your knowledge surpasses all but one," she said.

"What? I'm not very smart," he said.

"Ah, but quite the contrary. You possess intuition, brother. You know how to fight, how to heal, and you know when to ask questions. There is only one other who has more knowledge, though she has yet to find out what it is she knows."

"Who?"

"That I can't tell you, Jayfeather, but she knows. Listen to me. Catmint has a flower."

"Yes. It has no medicinal value, though."

"That is where you are wrong. It can cure blackcough in leaders on their ninth life and prevent sickness for a lifetime," Hollyleaf said.

"But no flowers are in bloom," he said.

"A gift from StarClan, perhaps, will do you good. Check the tree with all those hollows on the border with WindClan, north of their forest section. There will be catmint. And an apprentice can help."

"I have no apprentice," he said.

"Wake up, and you will find that a certain tom has found his...real calling. He's felt it since he was a kit, and surely you must have noticed?"

"Leafpaw," he said. "But he's set his mind on being a warrior."

"No cat can ignore StarClan's wishes forever," Hollyleaf said. Jayfeather nodded, then faded. "He is awake. I must go find Fallen Leaves before he winds up lost again," Hollyleaf said, and dashed off. I closed my eys and focused on waking up.

I woke up and sprung out of the medicine den. Jayfeather was just stretching his legs when I burst out of his den and out of camp. I headed straight for the WindClan border, where the tree was. I knew which tree Hollyleaf was referring to; many squirrels lived there. I found it and scaled it, finding a very large catmint plant in full bloom. I dug up the entire plant and raced back into camp. I passed Lionblaze on the way in.

"Fireleaf! Where'd you find that?" he asked.

"No time!" I yelled at him. I burst into camp to see Jayfeather talking to Leafpaw in a hurried tone. He averted his eyes to me when he saw me burst in.

"Fireleaf! Oh, thank StarClan you went to get it. Hurry! Bramblestar's about to lose his grip on his last life!" he said. I ripped the flower off and threw the rest of the plant at Leafpaw.

"Plant that somewhere," I said, and raced to Bramblestar, Jayfeather on my heels. "Bramblestar!" I called. He moved his eyes to look at me. This was bad, he didn't have enough energy to even lift his head off his paws. "Give it to me," Jayfeather said. I gave him the flower which he chewed.

"Jayfeather! That's for Bramblestar!" I said. He ignored me and chewed it to a pulp. He spit it out along with all his spit.

"Shut it. I'm the medicine cat, and I know what I'm doing," he said.

He picked up the pulp in his paw and went to Bramblestar. He lifted the leader's head with a careful paw and let his jaw fall open. He pushed the pulp inside and closed Bramblestar's mouth.

"Swallow, Bramblestar. With all your strength," Jayfeather said. Fireleaf, you're stronger than me. Get his body up and I'll tilt his head back. It'll help the pulp go down," he said.

I did as he told me and watched the lump that was the catmint flower pulp go down his throat.

"Jayfeather, did it work?" I asked.

"I hope so. If your mother was right, he should heal and won't get sick again," he said. "But she could be wrong. We can only hope," Jayfeather said. I sat down next to him, and he buried his face in my fur and silently cried. I stroked his head with my nose and wrapped my tail around him. When he was finished, he looked up at me.

"Bramblestar is still my father."

"I don't even know who your real father is," I reminded him. "So of course he is."

"You know the black WindClan cat, Crowfeather? Leafpool ran away with him. She did love him. But she came back, left him. He's my father," he said. I nodded. Suddenly Bramblestar weakly stood up.

"What did you give me?" he asked. "It's working. I thought blackcough wasn't curable."

"Only for leaders on their ninth lives is it possible. It's the flower of catmint. Fireleaf's mother suggested it."

"Her...her mother?" he asked. "But...we found her in the forest. Who's her mother?"

"Her mother is Hollyleaf, Bramblestar. It'd take too long to tell you how. Hollyleaf is her mother, and Fallen Leaves her father. She possesses some kind of Ancient knowledge, and she somehow has to unlock it. Fallen Leaves knew, but he's lost it. Anyway, that doesn't matter. She needs to find Ivypool. Sunspark will be willing to go now that you're better," Jayfeather said.

"Good...good," Bramblestar said. He stood up, stretched, and began to groom his pelt. "Tell Sunstar that you both have my blessing. And go! I have a feeling that Ivypool's life may be in danger!"

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**Author's Note: Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Was it so-so? Please review—all comments are welcome, even flames. Stay tuned and wait for wednesday!**


	5. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: So...yeah. This is out kimda late, sorry. It's a pretty long chapter, though, so it took me a while to write and edit and spellcheck and so on. So, yeah! I'm looking for characters for later chapters, so read the author's note at the bottom for what to write if you want to!**

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_Disclaimer: I do not, and will never, own Warriors. All rights go to the Erin Hunters. I only own my own characters and the plot!_

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Red's toms were uncomfortably close to me, and no matter how much I tried to shove my way out of the situation, I couldn't move them. Laurel was in a state of shock, and poor Luna was next to me crying.

We were at a ground-eating pace, twisting and turning through alley streets, until, finally, we reached Red's base. It was on the edge of Twoleg territory in an abandoned Twoleg home.

The toms herded us inside and up to a higher level. There were two other kittens there, washing themselves. "You'll be staying here," Red said. We slunk in, but he put his paw in front of me. "Not you. You're coming with me," he said.

"No!" Luna said. She bounded up and stood next to me. "Leave her alone."

"Move, she-devil," he said, pushing her aside. "You'll do well to remember who owns you now. I'm taking this she-cat with me. She is a threat to all of you and to all of my cats," he said. He grabbed my scruff, but I shook him off. He led me up to another level and into a comfortable room. "Sit," he said, gesturing to one of many comfortable kittypet beds. "This is my personal sleeping area. Only my...closest kittens are allowed up here. And, of course, anyone on official business. You are here on both terms. Tell me, dearie, what is your name?"

"I'm..." I hesitated. Duck had warned me that alley cats hated Clan cats. "What my name is does not concern you. Call me whatever you wish," I said.

"Fine. I'll call you Warrior, for your feat in battle. What happened today was most impressive. Tell me how is your face?"

"Fine. I've suffered much worse wounds."

"My, Warrior is a name that suits you well. So, where are you from, Warrior?"

"I'm from lands far away, a forest. I lived with my kin, but I met Duck closer to this Twoleg place. I'd had enough of that life, so I lived as a loner. Duck convinced me to join him, and I had gotten there this morning. Now enough about me, Red."

"Red," he scoffed. "That's my battle name. A foolish one, too. I got it years ago, when I first got here. I was too close to a base of an alley cat group, and their leader saw me. We battled, and I beat him. They called me Red, and I became one of them. I had a name before that, though. Tiny, I was called. You know, as a joke, because I'm muscular and tall. You're built much like me. You trained with your kin in that far away forest?"

"Yes. I did. We fought with other groups of kin, so I trained. I was a prized fighter, the best other than possibly one tom. What do you want with me, Red? Nothing you say can possibly make me feel sorry for you; nothing you say can make me pity you; nothing you say can make me forgive you for killing Duck and taking me and the other kittens."

"Please, Warrior, don't call me that. Give me a new name."

"Fox-dung? Mouse-dung? Fox-face? Dung-heap?"

"Please, Warrior? I want you to forgive me. You're the prettiest she-cat I've ever seen," he purred. I spit in his face. "Please?"

"I'll call you Fox-dung," I suggested.

"Warrior, if you won't cooperate I'll have to kill you."

"Then I'll call you Red."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Fine. I'll give you time. Sleep here."

"I won't mate with you, Red. I won't sleep with you. I won't sleep here."

"Warrior, you'll sleep here. No mating, I swear. Just sleep here."

"Must I?"

"You must. Eventually you will warm up to me, Warrior. And when that day comes, you let me know by renaming me," he said. I grunted and eased down into a bed far away from a plush one Red was in. It was already moonrise, so I curled up and went to sleep.

When I woke the next morning, it was just before dawn. Red was still asleep, so I left the room and went down into the room the kittens were in. Celestia was awake, and as soon as I came in she raised her hackles, fluffed up her fur, and hissed at me.

"Calm down, Celestia," I said.

"Oh, it's just you, Ivypool."

"Call me Warrior now," I said. "How was your night?"

"Fine. Luna fell asleep at moonhigh. She's carrying Duck's kits. She found out only a few days ago, she's quite distraught."

"His KITS?" I asked. She shrugged. "But I thought Duck was...different. He told me what Scar was like and said he'd never do that."

"Scar. Oh, he was naughty, that one. But, no, Duck wasn't like that. Luna wanted to be his lifelong mate, but with Laurel in the way he would never agree to it. So she told him she wanted to bear his kits, and he agreed. He is a tom, of course."

"Well, yes. So she has Duck's kits?"

"Yes. And you? You were with Red all night..."

"I was. But nothing happened," I said.

"Well, the things I would let that tom do to me if I slept up there with him," she said mischievously. "Look, I'm sorry I was so judgmental back at Duck's place. It's just...you are by far the prettiest she-cat and we'd all fallen for him. You stood in the way. But you're actually a nice cat, Warrior. And you tried to protect us all. Come, come," she said, beckoning me over with her tail.I sat down next to her and she groomed my pelt, lapping it gently and with a comforting pattern.

"So, last night, Red asked me to be his...like...mate or something. He said that I'd let him know by renaming him, since Red is his battle name. He told me he hates it."

"There are worse things than becoming mates with a tom as handsome as Red. It might be better to just accept it."

"I guess. But I don't want to end up as a she-cat who follows a tom blindly and does nothing! I want...respect."

"Respect isn't something a kitten will get. Just be his mate and work from there, yeah?"

"Thanks," I said. I rubbed my tail over her back and went back to Red's sleeping area. He was still fast asleep.I walked to his bed and laid down so our backs were touching and I fell asleep next to him. It was nice to sleep in after dawn.

I woke up to a tongue grooming my pelt. "Decided I wasn't so bad?" Red asked. I purred softly and sat up.

"I suppose Celestia may have helped guide me to that decision," I responded. I began to groom his pelt as he groomed mine.

"And? Have you decided on a name?" I chuckled.

"Other than Fox-dung, Mouse-dung, or Fox-heart? Yes, I decided on...um...Flame. It's better than Red, so..."

"I love it," he purred and licked my cheek. "It's perfect. A new name from the prettiest she-cat I've ever seen," he mewed. "I think it's high time we leave this place, huh?"

"What do you mean leave?"

"I mean...there is a meadow where we can go. Far away. We don't need them. You never have, I never did. Let's run away!" I hesitated. I wanted to, but I didn't know him and I didn't want to leave the alley kittens who clearly needed my help.

"I...I can't leave. Well, not yet anyway," I said. "I'll figure it out, okay, Flame?"

"Alright. That's more than I can ask," he said, rubbing his pelt along mine. I got up and bounded down to where the kittens were.

All but Laurel had woken up, but they were all quiet. They had groomed and were completely awake, but they were all laying down facing the door."Why don't you all get up?" I asked. A she-cat I didn't know, a flat-faced cat with fluffy white fur gave me an exasperated look.

"You may be new, but you surely must know that we can't go anywhere without our tom's consent," she said. I gave her a confused look. Celestia looked at me apologetically.

"We can't get up, not really anyway, until Red says we can," she said.

"Flame," I corrected without even thinking. "He changed his name to Flame to match his pelt of flame," I said. Celestia smiled softly at me."We can't get up until Flame says we can. And Laurel still sleeps," she said, gesturing to the silvery-gray she-cat still asleep on the ground.

I sighed and walked in, much to the flat-faced she-cat's dismay. I went to Laurel and gently nudged her with my paw. She didn't wake, so I nudged her harder, then harder still until she woke.

"What?" she snapped.

"Wake up," I said, calmly. "Now, listen to me. Do you honestly, deep down, enjoy being treated like this? Where you follow your toms and don't even get up until they say so?" I asked the rest of the cats. They all muttered amongst themselves, and I could here a "no" escape the crowd every now and then. It was the flat-faced she-cat who finally spoke.

"No. It's insulting and disrespectful. But what can we do?" she asked.

"You can train under me. Learn to fight as I did yesterday, or at least well enough to defend yourselves!" I said. This sparked excitement. "Let me teach you!" I said.

"No," Luna said. "I can't. I won't. I'm okay with following toms, even if they do murder and steal, and I—" she was cut short by Celestia's tail in her mouth.

"No, Luna. You can fight alongside us or get out now," she said. That shut Luna up.

"If you want to learn how, go to that corner of the room," I said, pointing to the far left corner. "If not, go to that one," I said, pointing to the far right lay for a few moments, then Celestia heaved herself to her paws and moved to the far left corner.

"I trust you, Warrior. You can teach us all!" she said. A bunch of she-cats got up and joined her.

Luna got up and went to the far right side, the first to decline. The rest of the she-cats got up, and only three joined Luna. Curiously enough, no two had had the same previous tom except for Laurel and Luna. One belonged to Scar, two to Duck, the other to the brown tabby tom.

"Very well. You four will stay here with Flame. The rest of you, come with me. And quietly," I said. Celestia joined me once we were out of the building, loping along to a small park I had seen on the way.

"We can't just leave them there! Laurel is half a moon away from kitting, Luna only three, and the other two are expecting in roughly two months.

"Really? But I thought Laurel just ate well..." I said.

"No! And we can't just leave them."

"We won't. I'm only teaching you how to fight so you can gain respect. Now, come on," I said. She was lagging behind as I loped a little faster.

"I'm tired. Slow down," she said. I noticed the other she-cats were lagging too, so I slowed to a walk.

"Well, I'll have to train you as if you were apprentices. Okay, no more soft lives. My word is law. Understood?" I asked once we had reached the park. They all murmured "yes" and nodded. At least they were agreeable and were smart enough to realize that I was the only one who could help them. "Good. Do any of you know how to hunt? No, of course not. Well, is anyone not too tired from the run?" I asked. A young cat, maybe thirteen moons old, stepped forward. She looked so much like young Fireleaf it was scary. She was a bright ginger with green eyes. However, the only marking on her was a white tail tip.

"I know a little bit about hunting. I used to watch the Clan cats on the moor and in the forest hunt sometimes. I can do an okay forest hunting crouch," she said. She dropped down into an impressive crouch, but her tail was waving wildly. Quick as the wind, I pounced on it."Tail still or the prey will hear you. Now, come with me," I said. I slowly trotted away from the group, and she kept up nicely. She was almost the height of Fireleaf, a little shorter from a lack of training and muscle."Where are we going to hunt?" she asked, excitedly."We'll be hunting in those trees over there. That's where I know how to hunt. I know how to hunt on the flat land, and I'm fast enough, but it doesn't feel natural to me. You have a forest hunter's build, too, so forest hunting will feel natural. Tell me your name?"

"I'm Emilee," she said. She increased her speed and bounded toward the trees. I sped up to match her pace, and we reached the trees in no time.

"Warrior," I said. "Now, some things to remember. Step quietly, always scent for prey, don't make too much noise."

"Okay. Can I see you hunt first?"

"Sure," I said, smiling.

I walked smoothly into the area with heavy trees, my weight in my haunches and scenting for prey. I caught a whiff of mouse so I shifted to downwind and dropped into a crouch. Emilee was behind me, hidden from view of the mouse but still watching. I crept forward until I was a tail-length away, then I gathered energy into my hind legs and leaped, pouncing on it. I gave it a quick killing bite to the neck and brought it to Emilee.

"That's how to do it," I said. She gave me a look of awe.

"That. Was. AMAZING!" she squealed. I put my tail in front of her mouth, but not on it.

"You'll scare the prey away. Now, show me how you'd walk in a crouch," I said.

She dropped into a crouch. At first her tail swished, but she stilled it. Her weight was in her haunches as she walked, and she stepped quietly. She was two fox-lengths away from a clump of tall grass, so I called out softly to her.

"Jump on that clump of grass like it's prey," I said. She got downwind of it and slunk up until she was a tail-length away, then leaped and landed squarely on it. "Great! Now, lets try it on some real prey. See if you can find some," I said.

We crept through the forest a few fox-lengths until she found a vole. I nodded to her, and she crouched, got downwind, and crept up to it. She leaped and landed on it, then gave it a killing bite and brought it back to me proudly.

"Good job," I said, resting my tail on her shoulder. "I'll make you into a hunter yet! Now, find three pieces of prey and meet me here. If you get into trouble, call for me and I'll come."

"O-okay," she said nervously. I brushed her pelt against mine comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Emilee. You're a natural," I said. I bounded off into the woods. I caught five squirrels, two mice, and a blackbird. Hunting was easy because the prey was so unsuspecting. When I got back, Emilee was waiting with a squirrel, four mice, and another vole.

"Wow, that's a lot," she said, gesturing to my prey.

"You caught a lot, too," I said. She gave her chest fur a few embarrassed licks before scooping up her prey.

"Thanks," she said, muffled by prey. When we got back to the spot where we had left the group, they had moved over to a sheltered spot in the bushes.

"You're back!" the flat-faced she-cat said. "With so much fresh-kill. You both are amazing hunters!" she said. Emilee and I brought our prey to a spot in the bushes that was the perfect size for it. All the she-cats ate and washed themselves.

"Now, I told you there was no soft life anymore. And I meant it. We'll be working on stamina today. If a slow jog from Flame's base to here tired you out, we have a problem. Emilee, you can have time off until sunhigh for your hard work today. The rest of you, come on," I said. I lead them outside to the park and lined them up. They had a tail-length in between them each.

"Now, there is a problem. I only know Celestia's name. You'll have to tell me the rest f yours," I said. There were twelve cats other than Emilee.

The flat-faced she-cat was named Niani, one Leaf, one Freeze, one Hailey, one Kindle, one Flash, one Jingle, one Aphrodite, one Cherry, one Bumble, one Oreo, and, of course, Celestia.

"Okay. Good. Now, I want you to stay this distance apart. Niani, stay paced with me. Let's go," I said.

I started out at a jog, then sped up until I was loping along. Next to me, Niani was panting heavily. The rest of the line was, too, but they stayed an equal space apart. A few more minutes, though, and the line was lagging. All but Niani who stayed next to me. I was panting then, too, so I slowed to a stop.

"That was good. We'll do this every morning before training. Go back to the camp and get Emilee," I said. They all slowly headed back while I stretched and waited for Emilee.

"Warrior?" she called. I smiled at her.

"Hey, Emilee. I was working on stamina. Run laps around the park until you slow," I said. She quickly got up to a run and ran four laps, a quarter of a lap more than the group, before she stopped. "Good. I'm giving you six she-cats to teach the hunting crouch to when we get back in. Show them, have them try it, then help them with it."

"Okay," she said.

We walked back, and I began to settle into my new teaching life.

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**Author's Note: So, as promised, I'm going to tell you what to put in your comment if you want to create a character for the upcoming chapters:**

**1. The name of your character (MUST BE WARRIOR OR APPRENTICE, NO EXCEPTIONS)**

**2. The description of your character (ie. the fur color, gender, etc.)**

**3. Clan your cat is in**

**4. Missing or Rescue (figure out what that means later! Also, if I have too many of either, I might switch your cat)**

PLEASE GIVE ME CHARACTERS AND CRITIQUES!


	6. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Sorry this is out kinda late...I was caught up in schoolwork and I ride horses pretty much all weekend. I'll try to get another chapter out by wednesday again, but it probably won't happen unless we get a snow day or something. You'll definitely see one saturday morning if there isn't one wednesday :D**

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_Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Warriors. All rights go to the Erin Hunters. The only things that belong to me are my own OC characters and the plot._

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"Tuck that tail in, Leaf! Niani, tuck your paws in closer when you roll and roll faster or you're exposing your underbelly for too long! Focus, Celestia! Emilee, anticipate that feint next time!" I called.

I'd paired up all of the cats, five groups of two and a group of three, to do battle practice. You were only supposed to fight with your designated partner(s), but you were fighting with others around you to mimic a real battle. This would've been helpful in ThunderClan...but now I was here and so ThunderClan was gone in the back of my mind.

"Alright! Good work! Gather around me," I said. I hopped down from my perch in a tree. I'd had them fighting in a clearing in the forest. "You'll face me one-on-one. Who's first?" I asked. Emilee stepped up.

"I am," she said. "Rules?"

"Sheathed claws, first to be pinned to the ground for half a minute loses. Other than that, no rules," I said. She grinned.

It had been a moon since I'd started to teach these she-cats. We trained all day and came back at night. At first the toms were upset, but a few blows using their new skills and muscles shut them up pretty quickly.

Laurel's three kits were all she-kits, and the toms, disgusted, had tried to kill them. Leaf, Flash, and Jingle had defeated the four attackers, so the skills were clearly working. Every cat could hunt, so they were well-fed and had extra prey to bring to the four she-cats who couldn't train. It was amazing. The she-cats were now equals with the toms and didn't "belong" to them anymore. It was almost time to leave with Flame.

Emilee had changed the most in this moon. She had grown in height and muscle. She was nearly as tall as me, with muscles rippling beneath her pelt and a confidence she had lacked so much before I had started to train her. She was so confident that when Flame, her previous tom, had tried to get her to mate with Tiger, his second-in-command, she had simply refused. She spat in his face and said she would rather die. Before, she'd have done it, no questions asked. But now she didn't.

"Hailey, you give us the go-ahead," I said. Hailey was the second-best fighter, after me, of course, since she was only just learning. She was older than me by a moon, so when I wasn't in charge, she was.

"3...2...1...BEGIN!" she called. We were across the clearing, so Emilee ran forward, zig-zagging and sprinting. I let her come at me, and once she was within a fox-length I dodged to the side and leaped at her. She reared up on her hind paws, battering the air at me. I swiped at her paws with my paw and sent her tumbling down. I landed on her side and kneaded it. She went limp, something I was expecting. She gathered up energy and sent my flying. I landed hard on my paws, but I ran right back at her. She cuffed me on the head, and I stumbled back, slightly dizzy. She battered my shoulder as I regained my senses, so I used her momentum against her. I flipped her over, pinning her down, and scraped my hind paws against her underbelly. She struggled, but couldn't get me up. A half a minute passed, so I let her up.

"I win," I said. She nodded respectfully.

"What did I do wrong?" she asked."You were all attack and no defense. That was okay until you threw all your weight on me, allowing me to use it against you, thus overpowering you. You could've easily expected that and, as I threw you down, twisted so the momentum I had was used against me and you ended up on top, able to hold me down," I said. She dipped her head, acknowledging that I had taught her. She was a good cat, the best I'd ever known, really. She was respectful but still outgoing, she knew when to accept defeat, and she was still herself even when she did.

"Thanks," she said. I nodded.

"Next!" I called. The next seven battles were easily won, mistakes easily correctable were made early on. And then Hailey stepped forward. I didn't know her all that well, we weren't close friends like I was with Emilee or Celestia or Leaf, but she was a formidable opponent.

"I'll go," she said. She went to the side of the clearing where the attacking cats went.

"3...2...1...BEGIN!" Emilee called.

Both Hailey and I charged forward, directly on course for each other. We met halfway and battered and swiped, ducked and rolled, pounced and leaped, blocked and threw each other off. It was glorious. We both showed no mercy, and I felt my strength begin to was time to end this. I performed a tricky and dangerous move Hawkfrost had taught me. I used my forepaws to shove her legs, and once she fell I stood on my hind legs and suddenly dropped onto her. She almost shoved me off, but I kept her down for half a minute.

"Wow, you're really good," I said.

"But you beat me," Hailey said, confused.

"Yes, but you've had a moon of training. I've had...wow...seven or so of extreme training and many, many moons to practice them. You were challenging to beat, even though I've trained longer," I said. She gave her chest fur a few embarrassed licks and rejoined the group.

The rest of the battles were easily won, and we all went back to the temporary camp to eat and share tongues. While we were eating, I heard a VERY familiar voice talking to another familiar voice.

"No! I can pick up her scent somewhere around here...oh, it's so frustrating! We've been at it for almost a moon and STILL we can't find her. Those toms we talked to? Useless. And her scent is here, but these accursed Twoleg smells are confusing me," it said. My fur stood up. It was Fireleaf.

"I know. I can smell her too. But where? And it's mixed with all these alley cat smells and it's becoming an alley cat smell, too. Losing its foresty smell," the other voice said. Fireleaf's best friend, Sunspark.

"Hey," I hissed to the other she-cats. "We need to go. Now. And quickly. We'll spend the day with Laurel and her kits," I said.

The cats didn't even hesitate when I told them, they only stood and prepared for my order to run.

"Let's go," I said. Fireleaf and Sunspark had turned their backs, so we took the chance.

"Hey! Look!" Sunspark yowled in alarm. Fireleaf turned."And is that...Ivypool leading them?"

"Mouse dung," I hissed. "Faster," I called out. We poured on the speed and took unnecessary turns, Fireleaf and Sunspark behind us. "Faster!" I yelled. The moon of stamina helped when clearly the two warriors hadn't had proper Clan duties for a moon. We pulled ahead and disappeared into the Twoleg building, Fireleaf and Sunspark yowling in dismay. They weren't used to Twoleg smells, so my scent would be muddled. Still, Sunspark had a good nose, one of the best in the Clan, as did Fireleaf. If anyone could trace my scent to here, they could."You need to stay here," I told the she-cats.

"I'm not staying here if you're going," Emilee said. "I'm going with you. Who were those cats?"

"They're my kin, from that forest I told you about. They're here to bring me home, but I don't want to go. Look, I'll be gone for a few days. I need to lead them far, far away. You need to continue practicing. Emilee, if you want to come really badly, you can. But the rest of you need to stay. Hailey, you're in charge of battle practice. Leaf, you organize hunting. Emilee, we have to go. Now. The ginger one with a white underbelly has great tracking skills and an excellent nose. The other one has the best nose in my...group. They'll track us here soon."

"Then let's go," she said."

We'll be running for a long time," I said. "They won't be able to keep up, not really. They haven't been keeping in the best of shape for this past moon, and we have. Your muscles will be sore, we can't stop long for sleep, and when we do that's one of the only times we have to eat. You can't turn back until I decide we've lead them far enough, okay?" I asked. Emilee gave me a crooked grin.

"I'm in!" she said. I nodded and we snuck out the back entrance. Fireleaf and Sunspark weren't on the street yet, which was good.

"We find them, let them glimpse us, and run, okay? I'm going to be calling out to the group, as if they were here, okay? I'll yell for them to scatter and hide and for you to follow me," I said.

"Okay," Emilee responded.

"Follow my orders. Now's not the time to be rebellious. Stay close or behind me and don't speak," I said. She nodded.

I walked, resting my muscles for the upcoming run. Emilee stayed close next to me, her eyes alight with excitement.

"Here. She's really close, now," I heard Sunspark whisper.

"Around the fence, maybe?" Fireleaf asked. The two padded forward, and I counted to six.

"Now," I hissed to Emilee. "RUN! SCATTER AND HIDE! IF THEY COME CLOSE JUST KEEP MOVING!" I yelled. "No! Emilee, with me!" I yelled. "Now!" I hissed to her, and we took off running.

"After her!" Fireleaf yowled. Emilee and I were already halfway down the street by the time Fireleaf and Sunspark saw us.

We charged, turning and twisting through the maze of streets. We kept Fireleaf and Sunspark close enough to see us, but far enough to keep them from catching up.

The end of the Twoleg place was fast approaching, so Emilee and I let all of our pent-up energy and ran.

"Extend your stride!" I said to Emilee. She was getting tired because of her short strides. Once she lengthened them, we matched each other stride for stride, the wind blowing through our fur. I realized, then, why WindClan loved running so much. It made you feel like you were flying.

"When do we stop?" she asked.

"Nightfall," I said. It was almost sunset, so we had to keep going. "We have to lead them far away. We run until nightfall, then we hunt and sleep. Then we hunt again and run until sunhigh, when we tame a short break and eat. Then we keep running until nightfall. Then we sneak back," I said. She nodded grimly.

"Okay," she said. We lengthened our stride further and I looked back. Fireleaf and Sunspark had no experience running on flat, open land and were getting worn out from using the short, speedy strides used in a forest. They were lagging and we were increasing speed."Slow down. They're lagging and we're wasting energy. I'll keep an eye on when they stop, and when they do I want you to watch them while I hunt. You don't know how to hunt here."

"And you do?"

"Yes. I had...um...special training. It's a long story," I said. We ran on, muscles stretching, heart pumping, flying over the open grass. I kept checking on Fireleaf and Sunspark, slowing down when they did. After night fell, we were still running even though Fireleaf and Sunspark had stopped. They were still in my vision, though, and distance was far.

"Stop here. I'll hunt, keep an eye on them," I said. Emilee nodded.

I slowly jogged, my pawsteps light. I spotted a family of three rabbits nibbling on the grass by their rabbit hole. I shifted downwind and checked my distance and made sure I was far away like WindClan cats. I gathered up strength and bounded forward, trapping and killing two before they even recognized my scent. The third tried to run, but I stopped it with my paw and killed it quickly.

Emilee and I ate the prey hungrily and I took first watch. It was an uneventful night, I could see Fireleaf watching me from her position, but she didn't move. The two had barely caught any food, a few mice it looked like, and she looked pitifully hungry. I wasn't supposed to treat Clanmates like this, it wasn't right...but no. She was no Clanmate of mine. My Clanmates were Emilee, Hailey, Leaf, Jingle, Niani, Freeze, Bumble, Oreo, Kindle, Flash, Cherry, Aphrodite, Celestia, Luna, Laurel, Spice (Scar's old kitten), Ruby (the brown tom's old kitten), and Holly, Dream, and Amira (Laurel's kits).

At the halfway point between moonhigh and sunrise, I woke Emilee. "Wake me up if they get up or at dawn. I'll hunt at dawn and we can move on," I said. She nodded, clearing sleep from her eyes. I settled down and quickly fell asleep.

When I dreamed, I was with Firestar. "Firestar!" I said excitedly.

"Ivypool, hello. How has your time been with these...cats."

"Oh. Oh..." I said. He'd want me to return to ThunderClan. "It's been good! They're learning to hunt and fight!"

"Yes. That's what I have to warn you about. I guided the paws of Fireleaf and Sunspark to you, and they're receiving training from Wind right now. You do know who Wind is?"

"The first leader of WindClan. Along with Thunder, leader of the forest, Shadow, leader of the pine and marshy forests, and River, leader of the river cats. Of course I know."

"They are learning secrets even Hawkfrost didn't teach you, or learn, secrets of the Ancient knowledge that Fireleaf has. She has the power of the Ancient knowledge, like Jayfeather's dreamwalking, Lioblaze's pelt of stone, and Dovewing's hearing. And know that...know that you would feel less guilt about past events if you knew who Fireleaf really was. Who her parents were and what her mother could do and what her father passed to her. You need to bring Emilee to ThunderClan, when you go back. Okay?"

"Firestar, I can't go back to ThunderClan. Foxleap will hate me, the Clan will shun me, and I'll have run away for nothing. And besides, I have a new mate."

"Leave Flame behind. He's no more than a petty tom focused on she-cats. You love Foxleap. And you must bring Emilee to ThunderClan, she doesn't believe in us so we can only do so much to guide her. You will learn, by the time your dreams with StarClan have taught you what you need to know, that this is what you need to do. Tomorrow, you must take second watch. A very special cat wants to talk to you. Go, now, if you wish to outrun Fireleaf and Sunspark for long enough. You'll find six mice two tail-lengths away, eat them and run," he said.

"Thank you!" I said. I woke up, much to Emilee's surprise.

"You didn't sleep long. It's not dawn yet."

"We need to move out," I said. I killed the six mice, we quickly ate, and ran."

"Emilee, who are your parents?" I asked."No clue. I was found mewling by a forest and Duck found me and brought me to a Queen, Nancy, who's kits who had all died. She raised me, but she was killed by Flame on his first attack on us. Duck told me of a story of two starry-pelted cats, one was black and the other had ginger and white patches. The black one was female. So, yeah, she was just watching me and Duck felt compelled to take care of me because she was there. And when he was taking me away, he heard the tom whisper 'be good, my little kit.' So he thinks those are my parents," she said. I almost tripped in shock. Hollyleaf and Falling Leaves, it had to be. And Firestar had said I'd feel less guilty when I knew Fireleaf.

I jerked to a stop and swung around, running back towards Fireleaf and Sunspark. They were only six fox-lengths away and the wind seemed to be pushing them forward, even though there was a headwind. The Ancient knowledge, as Firestar had mentioned, must have aided them. Emilee had swung around and was at me heels.

"What are you doing?!" she yowled.

"You need to meet Fireleaf!" I said.

"Ivypool!" Fireleaf yipped excitedly, and when she met with me she put her pelt up right next to mine. "Why did you run? Oh, you need to come back! Why did you leave?" she asked.

"Fireleaf, I want you to meet someone," I said, and pointed my tail at Emilee. "This is Emilee. She's a cat from Twoleg place, but she has 100% Clan blood running through her. Her parents are Hollyleaf and Falling Leaves, and so are yours this is your sister," I said.

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**Author's Note: So...that's not really a cliffhanger, right? Because you could've figured that out beforehand...and I kinda promised myself that I wouldn't leave you guys with cliffhangers.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Also: I told you guys that I needed you to make characters. Look at last chapter's AN for the guidelines, or just gove me the name, descritpion, and Clan of your cat and missing or rescue. THANKS!**


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